Events Details

Contents: DIWALI Celebrations| Care & Share| Every Penny Counts

The children of SOFKIN are eagerly anticipating the holiday season. As an inter-faith organization that celebrates the holidays of all faiths, SOFKIN had a wonderful time celebrating Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, on November 11. The celebrations included a unique SOFKIN ritual. Over the course of the previous year, the children put “chits” – where they note things they’ve done wrong or mistakes they’ve made – into a box. On Diwali, instead of setting off the traditional firecrackers, the chits are taken out of the box – unopened – and set afire. Having experienced this healing and hope of Diwali, the children are now looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.

Care & Share

With the holiday season comes a sense of sharing and giving, to be grateful for all that we have and hope that others have what they need. It is a garland of sharing and caring that wraps the season. As we share with others, such as the children of SOFKIN, we pass along that essence of the holidays. It is in this spirit that we would like your help in providing Christmas gifts for the children.

This year we would like to give each of the 45 children:

• A school set that includes a school bag, a new school uniform, and 2 pairs of shoes (regular and athletic)
• New clothes, including a rain jacket, a sweater, and warm socks, as Hyderabad enters the winter rainy season
• A new bed set that includes a bed sheet and thin comforter (made by women at Maher, our sister organization in Pune)
• A bag of chocolates and 1 small toy for the younger children, and a pen set for the older children

The total budget for the above holiday gifts is estimated to be $3,000. We will appreciate anything you are able to contribute. Chaya Pamula will be traveling to India in mid-December and will personally deliver these presents to the children on behalf everyone who contributed.

And to complete this circle of sharing and caring: The children know how lucky they are to have supporters from across the world who give them a home that tends to their needs. But they also know that not everyone is as blessed as they are. To provide a way for the children to share their sense of appreciation and good will, Chaya is planning an opportunity for them to help deprived children who are begging on the street. The SOFKIN children will be asked to skip one lunch and contribute this food towards a meal for the street children. They will then help prepare this meal and travel to poor sections of Hyderabad where they will offer the packets of food to their less fortunate neighbors. (Chaya has already talked with the children about this. They are very excited about the idea and said they would be happy to skip all their meals for a day!)

Every Penny Counts

Here’s how you can help us take advantage of Amazon Smile:

• a) Shop Amazon via smile.amazon.com using an internet browser on your desktop or laptop computer, your mobile phone, or your tablet (including any Kindle Fire device).
• b) Select “Support Organization for Kids In Need” as your charitable organization. You will be prompted on your first visit.

As an Amazon consumer, nothing changes for you. By shopping via smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization – “Support Organization for Kids In Need.”

So, thank you for everything you do to support SOFKIN.We are grateful for all your contributions that have made such a difference in our children’s lives.